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Letters from an Astrophysicist

Page 17

by Neil DeGrasse Tyson


  “Soul Searching,” Jeff Ryan, 132

  Education

  “Accuracy,” Terry McKiernan, 200

  “Express Yourself,” David Swaim, 118

  “Gifted Students,” Bronwen, 197

  “Half-Black,” Cathy L. Jones, 212

  “Home Schooled,” Lisa McLean, 208

  “Making the Grade,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 221

  “Not a Shadow of Doubt,” Lawrence McFarrin, 195

  “On IQ,” Marc, 15

  “Scary Smart,” Jack’s mom, 211

  “Space Cadet,” Ronald Ward, 186

  “We Suck at Science,” Jeff Provine, 80

  Films

  “Hollywood Nights,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 232

  “I’d Rather Direct,” Andrei Anson, 63

  “Worst Ever,” Chris Bostwick, 67

  God

  “The Bible Tells Me So,” Brandon Fibbs, 167

  “Evidence for God,” Andrew McLemore, 101

  “Evolution vs. Creationism,” Jackie Schwab, 98

  “The Eye of God,” Niki Branford, 157

  “God and the Afterlife,” Webster Baker, 163

  “Meaning in Life,” Mark, 179

  “Open Mind,” Kevin Carrol, 173

  “Qur’anic Verses,” Tahmid Rahim, 100

  “Soul Searching,” Jeff Ryan, 132

  “Thinking for Yourself,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 160

  “Where Is the Proof?,” Roger, 102

  Islam

  “Qur’anic Verses,” Tahmid Rahim, 100

  “Skies Over Iraq,” PFC Derrick Philips, 58

  Judaism

  “Bible Stories,” Ingrid, 214

  Mathematics

  “A Piece of Pi,” Dr. Alfred S. Posamentier, 169

  NASA

  “Happy 60th Birthday, NASA,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 1

  “I’m Not Paying!,” Adam Dirkmaat, 83

  Paranormal

  “Coma,” Sheila Van Houten, 9

  “Dead Man Talking,” Seanlai Cochrane, 124

  “Parallel Universe,” Corinne, 36

  “Psychic Teleportation,” James McGaha, 34

  “Sixth Sense,” Kathleen Fairweather, 47

  “Symbolism, Myth, and Ritual,” Tom Breidenbach, 154

  Parenting

  “Bible Stories,” Ingrid, 214

  “Doing Time,” Wayne Boatwright, 204

  “First Telescope,” Morg Staley, 217

  “Happy 30th Anniversary,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 218

  “Letter to Dad,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 236

  “On Pretending,” Doug Fedinick, 207

  “Starry Starry Night,” Lizdel Collado, 207

  Philosophy

  “Alien Homicide,” Michael Cuellar, 106

  “How?,” Thomas E. Downs, 109

  “I Think, Therefore I Doubt,” Daniel Narciso, 116

  “Meaning in Life,” Mark, 179

  “More Harm Than Good?,” Dakkan Abbe, 95

  “Spirals,” Paulette B. Cooper, 52

  “To Know,” David Lunianski, 191

  “Truth or Meaning?,” Kevin Murphy, 107

  “Why?,” Jason Harris, 114

  “Yin and Yang,” Reid Tice, 115

  Physics

  “Perpetual Motion,” Shawn, 40

  Planets

  “An Apology,” Michael C. Hotto, 75

  “An Appeal,” Madeline Trost, 76

  “Defacing Mars,” Stevie Debe, 32

  “Moon Lover,” Arthur Piccolo, 77

  “Moons of Mars,” Tom, 38

  Politics

  “A Horse’s Astrophysicist,” Neal Larson, 225

  “Hurricane Katrina,” Ron Marish, 134

  “Middle School Skepticism,” Ray Batra, 93

  “Remembering Holbrooke,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 123

  Pseudoscience

  “Big Foot,” Alex, 45

  “B.o.B. and the Flat Earth,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 224

  “Dogon Predictions,” Phil Dabney, 42

  “End of the World,” Kale Joyce, 29

  “Perpetual Motion,” Shawn, 40

  “Time’s Up,” Iris Hale, 31

  Race

  “Dogon Predictions,” Phil Dabney, 42

  “Half Black,” Cathy L. Jones, 212

  “Happy 60th Birthday, NASA,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 1

  “Keep Off deGrasse,” Nzingha Shabaka, 231

  “On Being Black,” Marc, 13

  “Roots,” Henry Louis Gates Jr., 54

  Religion

  “Bible Stories,” Ingrid, 214

  “Qur’anic Verses,” Tahmid Rahim, 100

  “A Teacher, a Student, and a Church-State Dispute,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 185

  World Trade Center

  “Flags of Our Fathers,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 151

  “Heavy Metal,” Simon Naylor, 152

  “The Horror, the Horror,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 141

  “Sunset on the World Trade Center,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 149

  “Symbolism, Myth, and Ritual,” Tom Breidenbach, 154

  “World Trade Center Anniversary,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, 151

  Copyright © 2019 by Neil deGrasse Tyson

  Epigraph: 1704 March/April, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, A Letter to Dr. Edward Tyson from William Cowper, page 1586. Printed for S. Smith and B. Walford, Printers to the Royal Society, London.

  Photo of Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 on page 71: NASA/JPL-Caltech, W. Reach (SSC/Caltech).

  Photo of the Helix Nebula on page 158: NASA, WIYN, NOAO, ESA, Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T. A. Rector (NRAO).

  All rights reserved

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available

  ISBN 978-1-324-00331-1

  ISBN 978-1-324-00332-8 (Ebook)

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